Through the looking glass
by Queenhaq
Summary: Takes place after 2x09, so spoilers for that. Richie x Kate, Seth.
1. Chapter 1

Seth keeps his mouth shut, growing increasingly uncomfortable as Richie shows Kate how to feed from the local blood whore they hired.

"Take your time," Richie advises, like he's tutoring a kid on math or something. "Taste the blood, sip it."

Seth reminds himself that Kate needs to learn how to survive as a culebra, and knowing how to feed is an important part of that - no matter how disgusting he might find it. Scott may have turned her into a vampire when she was shot but that little prick is now a pile of ashes after the massacre with Carlos and now it's up to Richie to show her the ropes.

"It's okay, sweetie," the blonde coos. "I don't mind. I like it actually."

Kate shakes her head, looking at Richie. "I don't need lessons on how to enjoy her blood. I want to know how to do this without killing anyone."

Seth smiles. That's his girl, a fucking saint even if she isn't human anymore.

"You won't, trust me. Do it the way I showed you and both of you will get something out of it." Richie quirks up an eyebrow. "She might even come."

"Oh, I hope I do."

"Ew," Kate mutters. "This isn't lesbian porn."

"No one's telling you to eat her out, just eat from her," Seth snaps. The last thing he wants is to discuss a goddamn orgasm in front of Kate. It feels so fucking wrong.

Kate shoots him an annoyed glance and turns her back to him. After those three months of living together, he knows firsthand it's always easier to piss her off into doing things than coaxing her. As expected, she wraps her arm around the blonde's waist, and starts drinking from her the way Richie tells her to. The chick moans loudly after a while - hell, she practically purrs - under Kate's touch.

Richie runs his fingers through Kate's hair. "Don't guzzle it. You won't feel her heartbeat then. Slow down, sip it, taste it, and listen to her heart." She does as told and Richie continues to whisper words of encouragement. "That's it, just like that."

Jesus fucking Christ. His brother's probably getting a stiffy from watching this. "Richard. Outside. Now."

Richie pulls away, takes a step back, and locks eyes with him.

"Now, Richie," Seth orders.

His brother grudgingly heads for the door and Seth follows him out of the motel room.

"What the fuck is going on in there, huh?" Seth demands.

"Yeah, exactly," Richie fires back, irritated. "Ease up on her, alright?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I get that you hate us culebras but she needs to learn this shit, and you standing there and scowling at her isn't helping."

"What'd you expect me to do? Grab a pompom and cheer her on?" Seth grumbles. "If you can't tell, brother, she ain't exactly head over heels about this."

"Yeah well, it fucking doesn't matter if she is or not. This is her life now. The sooner she deals with that and accepts it, the easier it'll be for her. And you need to stop being a whiny asshole about this whole thing."

"And you need to stop enjoying it so goddamn much."

Richie purses his lips, glares at him defiantly. Seth knows there's always been something between his brother and Kate, and just like before, he needs to protect her from Richie.

"She's not some booty call, bro. She's Kate, and you're not gonna touch her or fuck her," Seth warns.

"Or what? You'll ground us both?" Richie mocks.

"I'll kick your fucking ass is what I'll do."

"Yeah, yeah," Richie says, rolling his eyes.

Seth follows his brother back into the room but he's not prepared for what he finds in there. The blonde is dead, her body ripped apart, and Kate's rocking back and forth on the floor. "I tried to stop, I tried. But I was so hungry, and she started fighting but I couldn't stop."

Richie dashes towards her and gather her in his arms to comfort her. "It's my fault, not yours. I should have stayed with you, I shouldn't have left."

"I don't want to do this, I can't. I just want it to end."

"Listen to me." Richie grips her chin, forces her to look at him. "This is your fucking life now."

Kate's wet eyes shine with a stubborn glint. "I'm never going to feed from anyone else again."

Richie's eyes narrow. "Yeah, you fucking are."

"She didn't deserve this," Kate reminds him.

"She knew the risks."

Kate bristles. "And you think that makes it alright? How can you be so cold about this?"

"Because it's survival of the fittest. And you need to get on board and adapt if you don't want to end up like her."

"You're a fucking monster," Kate bites out. "I don't want to be like you."

Seth knows where this is going, realises there's nothing but disaster written in Kate's future if she doesn't learn to accept who she is now. "Kate, look at me."

She does as asked, regret and shame washing over her blood-soaked face. It breaks his fucking heart to see her hurting like this because, human or not, she's still the best person he knows and she doesn't deserve to suffer.

He leans down next to her, determined to get through to her. "Richie's gonna teach you how to control this, and you're gonna learn. You're gonna learn so something like this never happens again. You get that, Kate?"

"I don't know if I can."

"You can and you goddamn will," Seth says, peering at her closely.

"I don't want to kill anyone else," she whimpers.

"You won't have to, not for food," Richie says quietly, squeezing her shoulder.

"And you don't have to worry about being like Richie. Two of you ain't anything alike," Seth adds.

She doesn't respond, her eyes still glued to the corpse.

Seth casts a quick glance at his brother and finds him staring at Kate, gripping her hand tightly, like he's trying to take away all the pain that she's experiencing, and it suddenly dawns on him that it's already too late. His brother's fallen hard which means he's not going to leave Kate alone, not at all, and there's nothing Seth can do to protect her from him.

Well, fuck.


	2. Chapter 2

Richie watches her from a distance, feeling simultaneously jealous and proud as Kate flirts with a fuckboy she must have picked up in the club. It may have taken her months to get comfortable in her culebra skin, but now she thrives in it - even if she'd never admit it. Her sweetness combined with her newfound confidence is like a beacon of light in the dark, attracting everyone to her.

Kate runs her fingers through the blond's hair, gives her bait an alluring smile. Even though Richie knows it's a part of the act, he hates it. Soon the two are walking away from the club, on their way to some isolated spot where she'll make her move. She never drinks enough to kill them, the innocent, still-human part of her won't allow for that, but if they get violent after finding out she's not going to put out, the culebra in her definitely makes it hurt.

"Whatever the fuck you're planning to do, Richard, stop it."

Richie rolls his eyes, irritated. He turns to look at his brother who must have followed him out here. "What the fuck are you doing here, Seth?"

"Making sure you don't screw up," Seth retorts. "Let her do her thing."

"Do you _see_ me getting in her way?"

"No, but I _see_ that vein in your head throbbing which is a pretty good indication you're about to fuck shit up."

"I don't need a fucking leash."

Richie starts walking in the same direction as Kate who's way ahead, and still oblivious to him. His stomach clenches with jealousy as she slides her hand down the fratboy's back, and he sees total red when she reaches for the kid's hand. Really? She needs to hold hands with that douchebag? He picks up the pace, but then Seth jumps in front of him.

"You're being a goddamn idiot right now," Seth barks.

"And you're being a fucking prick. Get out of my way."

"No. You're not gonna mess with her, Richard."

"She's not a fucking child, and you're not her knight in shining armour!" Richie shoves his brother aside. "Asshole!"

"Don't come crying back to the motel room like a little pussy when she bites your head off for being clingy," Seth declares, storming away.

Richie keeps walking, pondering Seth's words. He's not being clingy, he's just making sure she doesn't do anything she'll regret later. Fine, yeah, maybe it's not his place but her death _was_ his fault and he can't just absolve himself of that responsibility. A part of him wonders at times if she wants to be rid of him and his brother, lead a normal life out there somewhere, but the thought of not seeing her makes him want to retch and the words die in his mouth before he can even get around to ask.

After trying to take over the world and getting his brother almost killed - and Kate dead - his world domination dreams took a backseat. Now he's happy to be settled back into his old life of planning scores with Seth, even if it seems ridiculous to Santanico. Once in a while she'll still slip into his head to check up on him, but he's learned to ignore the call now. He's fucked things up way too much to face her, and now he worries he's going to do the same with Kate. Even though she doesn't seem to mind being a part of their lifestyle, he knows it's only a matter of time before she grows sick of it and walks away. Hell, she's already on her way if tonight's any indication. For the first time she ordered Seth and him - more him than Seth actually - to find something else to do because she wanted to go out by herself.

Richie turns the corner and heads to the alleyway, knowing he'd find her there. Sure enough, fuckboy's trapped against the wall, struggling against her while she drinks from him. Richie can't keep his eyes off of her. She's electrifying as she takes her time with the food like he taught her, but then she's also loving, almost affectionate with the bait, which irritates the fuck out of Richie. Why the hell is she being so tender with him?

Suddenly, she pulls away.

"Next time when a girl says 'no', listen to her," Kate whispers, grabbing the boy's chin.

The kid's eyes are filled with fear, his face covered in disgust. "What the fuck are you?"

Kate smiles. "Your worst nightmare. I'm going to be watching you every minute of every night, and if you ever slip something into a girl's drink again, I'll rip your guts out."

She steps back and the kid scurries away, crying.

Finally she turns towards Richie. After wiping the blood from her chin, she crosses her arms and levels him with a angry glare. "What part of I'm going out alone was so hard to understand?"

God, she's fucking beautiful when she's angry. "What makes you think I'm following you?"

She rolls her eyes, taking slow steps towards him. "Because you are."

"Maybe I'm just out for dinner."

He can see her struggling not to smile.

"And because I saw you lurking outside of the club when I came out," she huffs a second later, trying not to break face.

"So that was the best you could pick out from the crowd?" Richie says, taunting her.

"He seemed eager to get into my pants."

Richie stiffens. "Were you eager to get into his?"

"Are you asking me if I'm into rapists?" she asks, stopping directly in front of him.

"That would be pretty stupid."

"Exactly."

"This is the fourth blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy bander you've picked out this month."

"Keeping track, have you?"

"I'm detail-oriented."

"You're nosy."

"Is that your type?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because I don't want to have to deal with you turning some asshole into one of us just because you have a crush on him," Richie bites out.

She tilts her head, giving him a mocking glance. "Is that the only reason?"

"Don't fuck with me, Kate."

Her lips purse into a thin line. "Then don't start acting like you're my boyfriend, because you're not."

He grips her elbow, pulls her close until her body is pressed up against his. This is a mistake, a huge, fucking mistake, because he can see her eyes flicker with need, can feel the passion flood through her veins like blood, and being so close to her simply fucks with his head. Their proximity makes him feel high, heady, especially when she runs her hands down his back.

She doesn't say anything when he leans in, rests his temple against hers.

He shouldn't want this, but he can't help it. He's in love with her, and there's nothing he can do to stop it.

"What do you want from me, Richie?" she whispers, peering at him closely.

"I want you to be safe."

It's the wrong thing to say because she pulls away, hurt. "I don't need you to watch over me, or take care of me, because you feel guilty or something. You don't owe me anything and I certainly don't owe you. So if that's the only reason you're hanging around, then stop."

She walks away, leaving him alone in the alleyway. As much as he wants to run after her, he knows it's better that he doesn't. They're a fucking disaster ready to implode, and the last thing he wants is to hurt her more than he already has.

Besides, Seth would eat his head if he ever made a move on Kate.

* * *

 **A/N - There will be one more part to this, this time from Kate's POV. As always thank you for reading, and, if you have the time, I'd love to read your thoughts!**


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